Sewing-machine



A. A. BOUTON. SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 91 1920.

Patented July 5, 1921,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES A TTORNEYS A. A. BOUTON.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. 1920.

l 3&9?6@ Patented uly 5, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES llVVE/VTOI? ATTORNEYS ARTHUR A. IBO'UTGN, 03S BROOKLYN, NEXKT YORK.

SEWING-MACHINE.

Application filed March 9,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that T, ARTHUR A. Bouroii, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Bro-oklyn, county of Kings, city agid State or iile w York, have invented an improvement in Sewiiig-h iachines, of which the following is a full clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of sew ing machines in which the work is supported and presented to the needle or the sewing mechanism upon a traveling carriage and has particular reference to the carriage construction and its associated parts. I J

In sewing machines of the character described the work supporting carriage is adapted to traverse a track or support on the front of the machine with the work carried thereby successively presented to the sewing mechanism per 50 and in the same plane as the said mechanism. It so happens that this heretofore employed manner of supporting the carriage is inadequate to meet the demands of eflioient production for instance the carriage track or support often permits a sidewise wabbling of the carriage resulting in a the track or support which is usually made up of a. series of rollers becomes worn and the work is not presented to: sewing mechanism in straight lines. With even these slight variations in the travel of the carriage the efficiency of the machine and operation is efiected.

It is the purpose of my invention to overcome these many disadvantages Well as to provide means which will offer a maximum of conveniences to the operator.

in the accompanying drawings .l have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention in connection With a conventional type of machine which has been only slightly mddified to accommodate the improvements. In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying the features of my invention. 1

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the carriage with its associated parts as removed from the machine.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and

Figs. l and 5 are cross sectional yiews on the lines 4--& and 5-5 respectively of Ti 1.

Tteferring to the drawings by letters of reference, 1 is a sewing machine which is Specification of Letters ?atent.

defective stitch, then again 7 Patented July 5, Emil.

1920. Serial No. 364,372.

of a conventional type in So far as concerns its general construction. However certain details have been modified to accommodate the invention. The machine 1 may be supported on a table or any other suitable support 2, and driven by a belt or the like 3. The invention finds expression in connection with that type of sewing machine in which the needle is mounted for horizontal reciprocation. The same will be observed aS presented on the front of the machine. The same general principle of operation applies to a machine equipped according to my invention as in the type heretofore employed in that the work is supported on a carriage 5 and successively fed past the sewing mechanism. These carriages are usually con structed with a plurality of clamps 6 between the confronting faces of which the work is confined with the portion thereof to be sewed extending slightly above the edge the clamps. The carriage is driven by the vertical spindle 7 on which is mounted the toothed gear 8 the teeth of which are made to mesh with the rack bar 9 on the innor face of the carriage. Accordingly the rotary motion of the spindle 7 will be con vei ted into a sliding or longitudinal movement of the carriage. Consequently the work confined by the clamps 6 will be successively presented to the sewing mechanism.

Now it is absolutely necessary to insure proper results that there be no wabbling or other loose motion in the carriage 5 as it travels in front of the sewing mechanism. For instance should the carriage wabble sidewise a defective stitch will result and should it not travel with the goods supported in the proper plane the needle will be unable to perform its function. lit is customary of course to support the carriages on a track and over which they travel. These tracks have proven inadequate and often produce a wabbling motion in the carriage. Most of the tracks thus far devised are provided with rollers and it is thought these rollers are more or less the cause of the disadvantages experienced with the carriages. I therefore propose to do away with the rollers on the track and to use in their stead a perfectly plain smooth surface and instead of employing a relatively short arm as has heretofore been the case I find that by extending the arm on both sides of the machine and thus offering an elongated surface as a cording to the preferred embodiment of my 7 through the may be removed and a shim or ties of support for the carriage I am able to realize a more efficient operation. Therefore aoidea a track 10 comprises an angle iron structure horizontally the front of the mach manner preferably by the screws 11.' ,As this track is rigidly supported and as there are no movable parts on the surface thereof on which the carriage travels the chances of an uneven travel of the carriage thereof are reduced to aminimum.

I have also departed somewhat from the exact construction of the carriage in so far the construction of the skid or as concerns shoe thereof, and the manner of manipulating the clamps 6. To begin with the handles 12 of the clamps have usually been pivoted on the front face of the back plate. Now it is found expedient to extend the handles 13 on the opposite face of the back plate. This will enable a more effective leverage to be realized than has heretofore'been found possible when they were pivoted on the front face of the plate. It will be observed that the handles are provided with transverse pins 14 which bridge the slots 15 in the clamps through which thefre'e extremities of the handles extend whereby upon upward movement of the free end of the handles relative separation between the upper extremithe clamps and the back plate will be effected to permit of the insertion ofthe work therebetween. The bottom of the clamp 6 is fixed to the back plate by screws 7 or in any other convenient'means capable of making a permanent connection between the parts without limiting the flexibility of the clamping end of the clamps; The shoe 16 of the carriage is longitudinally divided-into an upper and lower portion, the parts being screwed together by machine screws or the like 17. The shoe is mounted to the'carriage 5 by the machine screws 18. lt'will be appreciated thatthe bottom part of theshoe them may be inserted between the two parts as at 19 to take up wearon the under face of the lower part of the shoe, the purpose of which will be understood on afurther readingof the description.

7 One of the features of the invention resides in normally confining the carriage on the track so that the same may be readily moved thereon away from the machine when the occasion demands. This is an advanta e which thefoperator will often resort to in her work and can not berealized in the present machines. To effect this condition just mentioned I would prefer to imposea thrust on the shoe of the carriage which would have atendency-to push the same toward'the machine and against the vertical side of the track. The means for producing this thrust mounted to an supported and mounted to ine in any. suitable back plate and pivot'them as at resting the influence plurality of preferably comprises a skid 20 which is angular clip 2l', which pro jects over the shoe l6 upon'which it is adapted to. bear for maintaining the same on the track 10; Fixed to' the clip 21 is an arm 22 the opposite end of which is pivotedias at 23 to the. undersideof the track 10. "The arm is provided intermediate its'ends with a hook or the like. 24 to which is attached a' contractile spring 25, the opposite endof which is secured to a short rod 26 which is adjustably fastened or anchored to a post 27 the posthaving an opener through which the rod extends and with an axial set screw adapted to bear against the rod and maintain it in any adjusted position to the post.

It will now be seen thatjthe spring 25 acts as a .tension device for the arm '22 whereupon under the influence of the same the arm with the clip. 21 mounted on theend thereof'will impart the desired thrustflon the shoe ofthe carrlage and support the same in a manner whereby the influence ofthe spring may be overcome and the carriage radially pulled away from its normal position on the track.

A suitable catch 28 which is pivoted as at 29 with a downwardly presented finger 30 on one end thereof is made to extend through an openingin the edge of the'trajckand be received in an opening in the arm 22 for ar of the spring 25 when the carriage is "radially pulled away from'the machine thus maintaining the thrust inducing means inactive.

A rest 31 is supported on the. table 2 for use in lining the carriage up on the track 10 when presenting the carriage in the machine.

Iaving thusdescribed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows zr 1. In a sewing machine, the combination of a work supporting carriage, atrack on which said carriage is adapted to'travel to presentthe worksupportedthereby to the sewing mechanism of the machine, said track comprising a horizontally disposed base provided at its inneredge with an upstanding vertical flange mounted intermediateits ends A to the sewing machine. with. the flange dis posed toward the'samega shoe on the carriage adapted base for longitudinal movement thereon;

tension means for normally maintaining the M inner side of the shoe against the flange for guiding the same onthe track, said means comprising an arm pivoted to the underside of the horizontal base, a clip secured to the free end thereof and adapted to engage the 1 outer side of the shoe, and means for yield-' ably. drawing the arm toward the upstanding flange asand for the purpose specified. 7

n a sewing machine, the combination of a work-supporting carriage, which said carriage is adapted present the work supported thereby to the v '115 r to rest upon the horizontal a track on to travel to sewing mechanism of the machine, said track comprising a relatively long shelf mounted in a horizontal plane to provide an even smooth surface in front of the machine and extending beyond the sides thereof, a guide wall for the track along the rear edge thereor, a shoe on the carriage adapted to traverse the said smooth, even surface, and tension means for maintaining the carriage on the track, comprising a pivoted arm, a skid on the arm bearing against the side of the shoe on the carriage, and means associated with said skid and overlying the top of the shoe, and a spring anchored at one end with its opposite end attached to said arm and adapted to maintain the skid against the side of the shoe under tension.

3. In a sewing machine, the combination of a work-supporting carriage, a track on which said carriage is adapted to travel to present the work supported thereby to the sewing mechanism of the machine, said track comprising an angle iron mounted with one of its sides offering a horizontal even surtaco, its oth r side providing a guide in the rear edge of the track, a shoe on the carriage adapted to traverse said smooth, even surface, means for maintaining the carriage on the track under tension, comprising an arm pivoted at one end with its opposite end having an angle clip, a skid mounted to said clip adapted to bear against the side o1 the shoe on the carriage with the horizontal part 01 said clip overlying the top of the shoe, a spring mounted to said arm with its opposite end adjustably anchored, said skid and clip together with the arm on which they are mounted adapted to normally maintain the carriage in alinement on the track, and

means associated with the track for overcoming the influence of the spring when the carriage has been radially displaced on the track.

4. In a sewing machine of the class described, a work supporting carriage comprising a plurality of clamps, a track on which said carriage is adapted to travel to successively present the work supported thereby to the sewing mechanism of the machine, a shoe on the carriage adapted to traverse said track, said shoe comprising a block having a length of substantially that of the carriage and divided longitudinal oi the two parts whereby the height of the shoe may be increased or'diminished, means for maintaining the carriage on the track comprising an arm pivoted at one end on the bottom side of the track, an angle clip memher on the opposite end of the arm, a skid on said clip adapted to bear against the side of the shoe, said clip having a horizontal part adapted to overlie the top of said shoe, a spring adjustably anchored at one end with the opposite end anchored to said arm for maintaining the skil against the side of said shoe under tension, the tension of said spring adapted to be overcome by a manually radial pull on the carriage whereby the carriage with the goods carried thereby may be moved away from the sewing mechanism and means for arresting the influence of said spring when the carriage has thus been moved, comprising a catch on the front edges of the track, having a finger adapted to be received by an opening in the track and projecting therethrough to engage said arm.

ARTHUR A. BOUTON. 

